50 in 56: The numbers behind Will Jordan’s journey to becoming the All Blacks’ greatest-ever try scorer

It’s official: Will Jordan is the All Blacks’ greatest-ever try-scorer in international rugby, surpassing Doug Howlett’s tally, which stood for 19 years.

Former full-back/wing Howlett scored 49 tries in 63 Test matches between 2000 and 2007, and while so many have come close to that tally since, none until Jordan have been able to reach the half-ton.

Howlett’s former teammate Joe Rokocoko came close, running in 46 in 68 appearances before his All Blacks career concluded with a move to France.

Julian Savea hit the same tally before he fell out of favour, hitting that same tally in 54 Test appearances, while Beauden Barrett could follow Jordan in reaching 50 having crossed 45 times in 144 international appearances for New Zealand.

Heading into the match against Italy on Saturday evening, Jordan needed two tries to equal Howlett’s tally of 49 and the Crusaders star did one better, going on to break the All Blacks‘ all-time leading try scorer charts, scoring a stunning hat-trick.

Following the epic milestone, we break down Jordan’s try-scoring brilliance with the outside back reaching the 50 mark after just six years of international rugby and 56 appearances.

Will Jordan, the All Blacks’ greatest ever try-scorer

At the age of 22, Jordan made his Test debut against Australia in the final Bledisloe Cup clash of 2020 in Brisbane, becoming All Blacks number 1191. New Zealand fell to a 24–22 defeat on that day with the outside back failing to open his try-scoring account, but he did so against Argentina later that year, grabbing a brace.

Injuries have hampered Jordan throughout his career, but when he has been fit for the All Blacks, he has scored, and he duly delivered in his first full season of international rugby in 2021.

He scored a mind-boggling 15 tries in 11 appearances for the All Blacks, which included five tries against Tonga – a match New Zealand won 102-0. He followed that up with tries in back-to-back matches against Fiji whilst doing the same against Australia and scored his first try against the Springboks. That five-pointer against South Africa was crucial for the All Blacks, who emerged 19-17 victors in the 100th Test match between the two rugby nations. He also grabbed a hat-trick against the United States of America.

2022 was a quieter year for Jordan, who crossed four times for New Zealand in nine Test matches, but he made up for it in 2023, helping the All Blacks reach the Rugby World Cup Final.

He scored a record-equalling eight times during the tournament in France, including two in each of the pool stage matches against Italy and Uruguay, a five-pointer in the quarter-final win over Ireland and a hat-trick in the semi-final to knock Argentina out of the competition. That came after he scored against the Springboks and Wallabies in the Rugby Championship.

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Under the tutelage of new head coach Scott Robertson, Jordan’s influence did not waver as he scored seven times in 10 Test matches. That included a double against Los Pumas and tries in internationals against Australia (twice), England, Ireland and Italy.

He matched that total 12 months later, starting the year with tries in all three Tests against France in July – a brace in the first. He added further tries against England, Scotland and South Africa, playing 13 Tests in total that year.

That meant that he entered 2026 needing four tries to break Howlett’s record and wasted no time in making history, scoring twice against France and three times against the Azzurri.

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After becoming the All Blacks’ leading try scorer, he can now set his sights on becoming the international game’s all-time top try scorer. He has equalled Rory Underwood’s tally for England, is two behind Georgia’s Aka Tabutsadze, five from Japan’s Hiritoki Onozawa and 10 away from Wales’ Shane Williams.

David Campese holds the record for Australia with 64, and Bryan Habana scored 67 for the Springboks, while Japan’s Daisuke Ohata leads the standings with 69.

Will Jordan’s tries for the All Blacks

Tries per country

9 – Australia
6 – France
6 – Italy
5 – Argentina
5 – Tonga
5 – Ireland
3 – South Africa
3 – USA
2 – Uruguay
2 – England
2 – Fiji
1 – Scotland
1 – Wales

International top try scorers

69 Daisuke Ohata (Japan)
67 Bryan Habana (Springboks)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (Wales)
55 Hiritoki Onozawa (Japan)
52 Aka Tabutsadze (Georgia)
50 Rory Underwood (England)
50 Will Jordan (New Zealand)

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